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The ''Crimes Act 1914'' (Cth) is an Act of the
Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor- ...
which addresses the most serious federal offences — that is, crimes against the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
. It was the first major federal criminal law since the
Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western ...
in 1901, since most criminal law of Australia was, and still is, handled by the states and territories rather than at the federal level.


Act

Amongst other things, Volume 2 of the Act deals with offences against the administration of justice in federal proceedings, piracy, and offences relating to postal services.


Structure


Volume 1

*Part I – Preliminary; *Part IAA – Search, information gathering, arrest and related powers (other than powers under delayed notification search warrants; *Part IAAA – Delayed notification search warrants; *Part IAAB – Monitoring of compliance with control orders etc.; *Part IAB – Controlled operations; *Part IABA – Integrity testing; *Part IAC – Assumed identities; *Part IACA – Witness identity protection for operatives; *Part IAD – Protecting vulnerable persons; *Part IAE – Video link evidence in proceedings for terrorism and related offences etc.; *Part IB – Sentencing, imprisonment and release of federal offenders; *Part IC – Investigation of Commonwealth offences;


Volume 2

*Part ID – Forensic procedures; *Part IE – Forfeiture of child abuse material; *Part IIA – Protection of public and other services; *Part III – Offences relating to the administration of justice; *Part IV – Piracy; *Part VIIA – Offences relating to postal services; *Part VIIC – Pardons, quashing of convictions, spent convictions; *Part VIID – Collecting, using and disclosing personal information that may be relevant for integrity purposes; *Part VIII – Miscellaneous *Schedule – Form of explanation under section 23V


Analysis


Constitutional basis

The Act is one of many current Commonwealth legislation that deals with federal crimes in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. Generally, criminal law is a state-law matter, as State and Territory Governments are mandated under their respective constitutions to legislate for the peace, order, and good government of their respective jurisdictions. But, while there is no general constitutional basis for the Commonwealth to legislate in criminal law, federal legislation exists to deal with crimes of a federal nature. There are currently three main bases in the
Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the A ...
that the Commonwealth Parliament relies on as the constitutional basis to legislate relating to criminal law. The first basis relied on is section 51(xxxix) (the 'incidental power'), the second basis is the implied incidental power under the heads of powers in sections 51 and 52 of the Constitution, and the third basis being executive power under section 61 of the Constitution.


Legacy

Historically, it has been the most extensive legislative instrument that dealt with federal offences, but is being gradually superseded since the passing of the ''
Criminal Code Act 1995 The criminal law of Australia is the body of law in Australia that relates to crime. Responsibility for criminal law in Australia is divided between the state and territory parliaments and the Commonwealth Parliament. This division is due to t ...
'' (Cth), which began the codification of all federal offences.


See also

*
Crimes Act {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Crimes Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, relating to the criminal law (including both substantive and procedural aspects of th ...


References

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External links


Crimes Act 1914, from AustLII
Australian constitutional law Acts of the Parliament of Australia Australian criminal law